The City of
New Westminster is located southeast of Vancouver on a hillside
along the north banks of the Fraser River. New Westminster, also
known as the Royal City, has often been compared with San Francisco
because of its heritage buildings, sloping streets and views of
the water.

Shopping,
Dining and Entertainment

The five areas
of the city offer different types of services. The Westminster Quay
Public Market in the heart of the waterfront redevelopment has nearly
eighty "one-of-a-kind" shops and services, a food fair, a neighbourhood
pub and two fine restaurants. East Columbia Street in Sapperton
offers a small town type shopping to serve day-to-day needs. Uptown
has all the shopping conveniences of a large town including the
largest mall in New Westminster, the Royal City Centre with over
35,000 m2 of retail space. The Downtown area along Columbia Street
offers a variety of stores in a historic ambience.

Parks
and Recreation

New Westminster
has ten major parks and seven indoor recreation facilities including
two ice rinks and the best aquatic facility in the Lower Mainland
- the Canada Games Pool. There is also the waterfront esplanade,
numerous neighbourhood parks, nature areas and sports playing fields.

New Westminster
is connected to Burnaby and Vancouver through the 7-Eleven bike
system that runs under and beside the Skytrain guideway.

Transportation

New Westminster
is located in the geographical centre of Greater Vancouver. The
adjacent Trans Canada Highway (Highway #1) connects New Westminster
to Vancouver and east to the rest of Canada. The Alex Fraser Bridge
enables commuting to Surrey, Delta, and Richmond while the Patullo
Bridge links the city to King George Highway south (99A).

Skytrain, a
light rapid transit system with three stops within the city, links
to Vancouver (25 min. ride), Burnaby, and Surrey. The Skytrain extension
project should connect New Westminster to Lougheed Mall and Coquitlam
Town Centre in the next few years.